Thanks to some glow sticks and a strict interpretation of election rules, the student body president election at Texas A&M University has gained national attention — and the suspicion of former Gov. Rick Perry.
Matthew Watkins
Matthew Watkins began serving as editor in chief of the Tribune in September 2024. He is a Texas native, born in Houston and raised in Austin. He attended Texas A&M University and has spent his entire professional career in Texas journalism, including stints at The Eagle in Bryan-College Station and The Dallas Morning News. Matthew joined The Texas Tribune in 2015 has held various roles, including higher education reporter, breaking news editor and politics editor. He has helped guide the Tribune's award-winning journalism that has included coverage of six legislative sessions, multiple election cycles, natural disasters and political scandals. He lives in Austin with his wife, Susan, and their two children.
Posted in
Higher Education
Former Gov. Perry questions legitimacy of Texas A&M student body election
Former Gov. Rick Perry, now the U.S. energy secretary, is questioning the legitimacy of the election that gave his alma mater its first openly gay student body president.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas senators weigh bills that would limit college tuition growth
The Senate Higher Education Committee on Wednesday considered several bills related to limiting tuition increases.
Posted in
Higher Education
As Texas higher ed tuition rises, financial aid is covering less and less
Sixty percent of Texas schoolchildren are poor, and the state wants more of them to go to college. But the aid it offers them doesn’t go nearly as far as it used to.
Posted in
Higher Education
Universities face funding cuts of 6 percent to 10 percent in Senate plan
In an attempt to make major changes in how higher education is funded, the Senate Finance Committee is proposing major cuts to each state university.
Posted in
Politics
Texas bullet train firm calls provision added to budget a “job killer”
Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate’s proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas A&M law school cracks U.S. News’ top 100 list
Texas A&M University’s law school came in at 92 — its first time in the top 100 since A&M took over the school in 2013. The University of Texas at Austin’s law school remains the highest-ranked in the state.
Posted in
Higher Education
Lawmakers to take another look at cutting back free tuition program for veterans’ kids
The state is set for another debate about the cost of a program that provides free tuition to children of military veterans.
Posted in
Higher Education
It cost $9 million to attract a top engineer to A&M. Was that worth it?
The state spent big to recruit professor Thomas Overbye to Texas A&M University. But lawmakers are questioning whether it should devote millions to make similar hires in the future.
Posted in
Higher Education
UTSA President Ricardo Romo resigns after sexual harassment investigation
In a statement, Romo said that he had been made aware that the way he embraced women “made them uncomfortable and was inappropriate.”
